20 billion Shenzhen fruit giant, aiming for an IPO

Author: Lei Zitong Editor: Yan Ziwei Photo source: Xin Rongmao

A low-profile fruit giant has stepped into the spotlight.

In late March, Zhang Jian, Chairman and CEO of Xin Rongmao, convened nearly 300 key personnel to hold the 2026 work meeting, requiring everyone to “derive resolve from passion and build on professionalism,” while continuously promoting business growth.

“A century-old company, a trillion-yuan dream.” Zhang Jian encouraged his subordinates like this.

A dozen days ago, he just signed a “bet agreement” with Lenovo Holdings: by the end of 2027, if the company cannot complete an Hong Kong stock listing, management must repurchase the shares at a valuation of RMB 5 billion.

Meanwhile, Xin Rongmao’s management team, together with multiple companies in the Javo group, jointly invested RMB 1.5 billion to enter into agreements with multiple shareholders to repurchase shares, optimize the equity structure, and clear obstacles for the listing.

After this transaction is completed, the Javo group under Lenovo Holdings will further strengthen control, with the shareholding ratio rising to 44.32%.

Xin Rongmao, founded in 1998, is headquartered in Bao’an District, Shenzhen. Its annual revenue is around RMB 20 billion.

Zhang Jian personally directly holds 9.5%. For more than 20 years steering this company, he has transformed it from a traditional fruit trading business into a global supply-chain giant.

You may not be familiar with the name Xin Rongmao, but chances are you’ve eaten the fruit it sells. New Zealand Zespri kiwifruit, U.S. Driscoll’s blueberries, and Chilean Dole bananas—many of these come from its supply chain.

Zhang Jian

Xin Rongmao does not directly run offline stores. It is the behind-the-scenes supplier for more than 10,000 supermarkets and 25,000 fruit stores across the country. Sam’s, Costco, CR Vanguard, Yonghui, and Guo Guo Yuan are all its customers.

It neither grows fruit nor does retail. It only specializes in being a “mover/hauler” of fruit. It has long-term cooperation with global fruit companies such as Zespri and Driscoll’s. It purchases directly from the source, and distributes precisely to end terminals through its own cold chain, warehousing, and sorting systems.

Its scale is enormous, yet its profit margins are as thin as paper.

According to the announcement, Xin Rongmao’s net profit margin has long hovered between 1% and 2%. In the period from January to September 2025, its after-tax profit was only RMB 245 million.

The reason is that fruit is a non-standard product, with high spoilage and strong seasonality—scale profitability has always been a challenge. The industry is too “fragmented.” Fruit farmers, traders, wholesale markets, and retailers each fight their own battles, making it hard to form a large-scale company.

The biggest challenge is time. Wine can be stored for decades, while fruit goes bad in a matter of days, so it needs an efficient supply chain.

Zhang Jian’s team integrates the industrial chain, building more than 30 cold-chain centers nationwide, with warehousing space exceeding 300,000 square meters, achieving a daily throughput capability of ten thousand tons. This is both a moat and a heavy burden, dragging down its performance.

After merging with Javo in 2015, Xin Rongmao has been rumored to be preparing for a listing. The road has been difficult all the way.

“Due to multiple factors, Xin Rongmao’s plan to list on the A-share market was unable to proceed as scheduled, and its Hong Kong listing plan was also rejected by its shareholders, resulting in the company’s value not being effectively released.” Lenovo Holdings explained in its announcement.

The capital market also lacks confidence in “fruit stocks.” Hong Kong’s “fruit No. 1 stock” Hongjiu Guopin has already been delisted. Since Guo Guo Yuan was listed, its share price has fallen by more than 60%, leaving it stuck in a swamp of losses.

At the same time, internet giants such as Meituan and Pinduoduo skip intermediaries, buy directly from the source, and rely on their on-demand delivery networks to reach users, eroding traditional distribution channels.

The time left for Zhang Jian’s team is not ample.

The captain of this fruit giant has, over the past two years, had to push forward under heavy pressure, delivering the answer sheet for the listing.